To See and Understand
by WolfbrotherTitan
Summary: Naruto's life is forever changed when he discovers his inheritance from his parents and part of it grants Anko Mitarashi a freedom that she hasn't known for years. Romance will take time to develop, and adventure will follow canon with a few twists.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Sasuke would have been declared a missing-nin and hunted down.

Summary: After the preliminaries in the chunin exam Naruto discovers a bloodline that covers his biggest weakness and grants him insight into seals with an eventual possibility of becoming a seal master like his father. Credit where credit is due:

1) EroSlackerMicha – Story: Naruto Prince of Thieves

2) Burning Blood – Story: Naruto of the Array

The idea for the bloodline came from EroSlackerMicha and Burning Blood shows just how powerful a seal master can be (also the pint of this story is a romance between Naruto and Anko, and the power to affect seals will come in here). Anyway, hope you like it, and on with the show!

After Kakashi told Naruto that he wouldn't be training him for the finals Naruto stormed off before he could say that he'd found someone else to help him. Kakashi was feeling pretty bad about this, but he reasoned with himself that what Naruto needed the most was the basics, and Ebisu could help him with that. Besides, Neji was unlikely to try to kill Naruto, but this Gaara character was probably going to try to feed Sasuke to his sand, and Kakashi felt he owed it to the memory of Obito to teach Sasuke. Kakashi sighed, and started reading his book, it always cheered him up, and in a few short minutes perverted giggles could be heard coming from behind the mask.

Naruto's dilemma forgotten for the moment Kakashi walked off still reading and giggling from time to time.

XXXXX

Naruto meanwhile was not happy, _why does Kakashi-sensei always do this? _Naruto thought, as he let his feet take him where they would.

_I guess the precious Uchiha always come first, I don't know why it still surprises me, but Kakashi-sensei was a lot nicer when he was Inu-san._ Naruto had always known that Kakashi had been one of the Anbu that had protected him when he was younger, and while he had never helped train Naruto in those days he'd always been there. _Guess it was just a job and all those meals and stuff he bought didn't mean anything to him._

His line of thoughts being decidedly unhappy Naruto found himself at the doors of the Hokages office. He wasn't surprised. He only ever went three places when he was depressed: to Ichiraku's for some ramen,_ never go wrong there,_ to the Hokage Monument to think or just be alone, or to Ojii-san's office.

Naruto nodded to the secretary on duty, some chunin or another who ignored his presence, knowing the Sandaime had standing orders that anyone who tried to stop Naruto from visiting would quickly find themselves guests of Ibiki. When Naruto knocked and heard a grateful, "Enter," he did.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked shocked to see Naruto, not because he didn't like the young blondes' visits, but because he had knocked. Usually Naruto would just come in and not always by the door. He looked at his window a moment and he thought of the three people who commonly had come in that way over the years: his student Jiraiya, Minato had, and Naruto.

Smiling the Sandaime turned back to Naruto and asked, " How can I help you today Naruto?"

Giving one of his fake smiles he rubs the back of his head and looks around. His eyes pop slightly when he sees something weird. Looking back at the picture of the Yondaime he sees a glow emanating from it. As he goes to touch it the Sandaime looks concerned for a moment, but decides to see what would happen.

As Naruto touches the picture two scrolls pop out and on the outside of both it says: To Naruto, Our beloved son. Naruto looks back to the Sandaime, his confusion obvious, and the Sandaime says, "Naruto, please give me those for a moment."

Naruto does as he's asked and hands over the scrolls. Sarutobi sets them to the side and looks at Naruto, when he pauses, seeing something unexpected. _His eyes! So it did activate!_ Without speaking he hands over a mirror to the confused boy.

What Naruto sees confuses him even more, because his eyes are different now. Around the iris is a swirl pattern and he asks, "What's going on Ojii-san? What happened to my eyes? And are those scrolls really from my parents? If so then why…"

About this time the Sandaime holds up his hands to interrupt, "Slow down Naruto. I'll answer your questions one at a time, but hold up a moment." Sarutobi stands up and does a few hand seals, and his hands begin to glow. He walks to the doors and briefly touches them, then goes to the window and touches the windowsill; finally he goes to the center of his office and touches the floor. As he returns to his desk he cuts his thumb and smears some blood across a small marker on his desk, then the whole room glows briefly, until it looks normal again.

The look of confusion on Naruto's face almost looks like its become permanent and the Sandaime can't help but laugh a little, "Ha, ha. Okay, I'll start with what is probably your newest question since that should be the easiest. What I just did was place a privacy seal on the office, now no one can enter or leave until I release it. Also, no matter how skilled, no one will be able to eavesdrop on our conversation."

Naruto nods, but gets a weird look on his face and asks, "Who would try to eavesdrop on you though Ojii-san?"

Laughing so hard Sarutobi has to wipe tears from his eyes it takes him some time to answer. "My boy, just about anyone. Don't forget that right now there are a great many foreign ninja in the village," Naruto smiles at his own stupidity while scratching the back of his head. "Now then, before I answer your questions I have a request. Once I start I ask that you not interrupt. Can you promise that no matter what you may hear you'll wait until I'm finished before responding?"

A big Naruto smile on his face Naruto nods, "Of course, I can Ojii-san, Believe it!"

Smiling in turn Sarutobi begins, "First of all, these scrolls are from your parents, and the reason they were there is because your father sealed them into his picture here the day the Kyuubi attacked." Here Sarutobi reaches for and lights his pipe taking a quick drag to test Naruto's word a little. He knew it was good, but it also gave him little time to think, he hadn't planned on telling the boy this until he was at least a chunin if not a jonin.

"Yes Naruto, the Yondaime Hokage was your father. He sealed the Kyuubi into his own son because he couldn't ask of another family what he was unwilling to sacrifice himself. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki from the Land of Whirlpool, died in childbirth on the second day of the Kyuubi's attack. Up till then we had managed to hold the demon back but it was slowly getting closer to the village and Minato knew it was only a matter of time. Sealing the Kyuubi away was the only option and it had to be sealed into a child whose chakra coils hadn't begun to develop yet or it simply would have overpowered the person and escaped. It also couldn't be sealed into anything with less than human intelligence or it would escape."

Taking another pull on his pipe Sarutobi checked Naruto's reaction so far, he seemed to be taking it well, but his mouth almost looked like it should be touching the floor. Sarutobi continued, "Your parents were so looking forward to your birth. They loved you from the moment they found out Kushina was pregnant. You should also know two more things about this. First, your parents were married, but only three people knew about it. I performed the ceremony and your godparents witnessed it, one of my old students and your godmother, one of your fathers. Both of your godparents are alive, but both have reasons why they couldn't be there for you growing up."

"Your godfather is Jiraiya of the Sannin, but as I know you mostly slept through history at the academy, lets just say that a blonde haired blue-eyed boy raised by Jiraiya would be like shouting out to all of your fathers enemies who you were. This is also why can't use your fathers name until you can defend yourself from anyone you come across. Your godmother's name in Rin Inuzuka though she can't claim her family name as the old head of the clan exiled her when none of the Inuzuka dogs would bond with her. She was named your godmother, but didn't know for years. You see she had accepted a long-term, deep cover mission a few months before Kushina discovered she was pregnant. It wasn't truly safe to contact her until you were nearly five years old. She immediately requested to return to raise you, but it wasn't safe at that time. Ever since I've been trying to get her back, but until recently it just wasn't safe enough to risk it."

After another slow drag and exhale and a smile and Sarutobi continues, "However, I have good news. Rin arrived two months ago. She's been being debriefed, and being checked over to make sure she's 100%. Between you and me, the last few weeks she's been rather insistent. Fortunately, the medics she has injured didn't have to go far for treatment," they both had a small laugh at that, neither much liking hospitals.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued he was glad to see Naruto smiling a real smile for once, it seemed he was looking forward to meeting Rin. Clearing his throat he continued, "Now then, as for your eyes. It's a bloodline you inherited from your mother called the Wakarugan." At Naruto's confused look Sarutobi laughed, "Ha, ha, ha! Don't worry if you've never heard of it before, few have because 24 hours after it first activates your eyes return to normal, but the effect is permanent. Supposedly it has three levels and at each it will be visible again, but exactly what you can expect I'm unsure, perhaps the scroll from your mother will explain it."

Yet another drag on his pipe has Naruto scowling for Sarutobi to hurry up so he can speak again. Right about now he's really wishing he hadn't made that promise, but he always his word, it's his nindo…so he won't speak yet even if he explodes for keeping silent so long!

Seeing this Sarutobi put out his pipe and said, "Now then, the Wakarugan is a bloodline like the Sharingan and the Byakugan in that it involves seeing more than usual. You should know at least some of what the other two do so you should know the Wakarugan is a little different, it does three things that I know of. First, no genjutsu will ever truly work against you again. You'll still need to learn how to dispel them for your comrades' sake, but you just can't be trapped in them anymore. This is the major source of the Wakarugan's power for your family because the second effect of the bloodline is an unusually high level of chakra, which naturally limits your chakra control. The last effect of the Wakarugan is an innate understanding of seals and in some cases the ability to simply remove them. Now I release you to speak, but understand that that's all I know of the Wakarugan."

Naruto starts to speak several times but just collapses onto the couch with his head in his hands. When he looks up he has a small smile on. He seems to be trying to stay calm and Sarutobi isn't really sure what he's feeling. Then Naruto asks, "So…what's in the scrolls from my…my parents?" he closes his eyes as he says parents, like there's just too much emotion in the word.

Sarutobi looks a little concerned about his adopted grandson, and says, "Well, this one," which he passes back to Naruto, "from your Mother is a selection of Taijutsu styles that made her physically able to stand up to just about any foe. Never underestimate the value of surprise, that's something you're already good at, but these styles are so individual that if you can master them all, and if you learn how to change between them during battle your opponent will never know what to expect. Your Godmother should be able to help you with this as your mother had begun to teach her these styles before she left for her mission, and provided her with a scroll similar to this one."

Pausing a moment a the boy looked like he'd just gotten the best present in his life Sarutobi then held up the other scroll. "Now then, this scroll is from your father and contains the instructions for his two signature jutsu, the Rasengan and the Hiraishin, also known as the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. The Hiraishin is also the technique that earned your father the nickname 'The Yellow Flash.' As for this scroll, I don't think you should take it yet, as it would have a higher probability of exposing your heritage, but I'll leave the decision up to you."

Naruto immediately reached for his fathers scroll, but before touching it he stopped and asked, "Do you think my…dad," another pause on an awkward word for him. He sighed and started over, "Do you think my dad would have wanted me to have this Ojii-san?"

Sarutobi paused before answering, "I know he would want you to have those skills…eventually, and I think that the Rasengan would be good for you, but you're not ready for it just yet. Your control is just not there."

Naruto looked sad for a moment, but when he pulled his hand back the scroll was still on the desk, "I guess that means I need to work on my control, huh Ojii-san?"

Sarutobi smiles and nods and Naruto gets up to go, but remembers the seal and looks at Sarutobi, "One moment my boy," and he gets up, does a very fast set of hand signs and places a hand over the boys eyes. "There, now no one will see the change. As for you leaving, I have one or two more things I'd like you to do. First, I want you to look at the privacy seal on my desk and see if your new eyes can figure out how to turn it off without destroying the seal."

Naruto nods and puts down the scroll from his mother to come look at the seal, but he seems to be having trouble and Sarutobi asks if anything is wrong. Naruto quickly explains that he's felt kind of strange since this person attacked him in the Forest of Death. Sarutobi asks for more details and once he understands what happened he asks Naruto to take off his shirt and channel his chakra so he can see the Kyuubi's seal. Fully grasping what Orochimaru had done he tells Naruto and warns him that removing the Five Element Seal is going to hurt.

After Naruto gets up from his short flight across the room Sarutobi notices that the genjutsu he placed earlier is gone and that Naruto's eyes are different once again. Now there appear to be silver highlights in the swirl pattern, where before it was all black. Not saying anything Sarutobi tries to reapply the genjutsu and fails! "Well, it seems you've found the second stage of the Wakarugan."

Being the genius he is Naruto responded with, "Huh?"

Once again Sarutobi presents Naruto with a mirror and he sees the change. Clearing his throat Sarutobi says, "It seems that at this stage genjutsu can't even be used on you." After thinking a quick moment he says, "Try a henge for me…" the smile on Naruto's face was enough of a warning, "Not the sexy jutsu if you please."

Naruto says, "Spoilsport," to which Sarutobi chuckles as Naruto sticks his tongue out briefly then smiles and transforms flawlessly from Iruka into, each member of team 7, and finally into Sarutobi himself, he kept transforming because he felt more solid than he usually does except when using the sexy jutsu.

Explaining this to Sarutobi the old man chuckles again and says, "Interesting, apparently your transforming abilities have become stronger. Very interesting," what he wasn't saying was that a transformation isn't supposed to be solid, but he wasn't quite sure why his bloodline should have done that. He had thought the sexy jutsu was unique in that way, _it just proves you're never too old to learn new tricks, _he realized.

"Anyway, it looks like you'll just have to where sunglasses until the effect is no longer visible on your eyes. Also, I must point out that the truth about your bloodline and parentage are both Triple S rank secrets that should be kept to yourself for the time being. You should be able to claim your father's name when you reach jonin, and you should be ready to begin training for the Rasengan immediately, and actually begin trying to use it shortly there after. The first thing you're going to need is to work on your chakra control."

"Alright, Ojii-san…so how do I do that?

Sarutobi face faulted at that. After pulling himself up he asked, "What exactly has Kakashi taught you so far?"

Naruto scratches the back of his head, "Well…mostly we work on teamwork, but in Wave he taught us tree-climbing."

Suddenly a little killing intent leaked out of Sarutobi and Naruto blinked and felt a little uncomfortable, as it wasn't directed at him. Elsewhere in the village Kakashi shivered a little thinking he must be in trouble, but after a few moments it let up and he went back to reading his 'Icha-Icha.'

Back in the Hokages' office Sarutobi sighs and says, "There are three basic methods for improving your control. First is the leaf balancing that you learned in the Academy, which like most you probably stopped practicing, once you'd gotten it. That was a mistake. Second is tree-climbing and last is water-walking which I'll get someone to teach you, after that you should be able to begin learning the Rasengan."

"Alright! All right! I'll do it! Believe it!" Naruto said, clearly excited.

Laughing Sarutobi said, "Okay then, before you go lets try this again," and points to the privacy seal on his desk. "Remember, I don't want you to do anything unless you're sure you can deactivate it without destroying it."

Naruto nodded and went to look at the seal from every angle. A few minutes later he touched it and the room flashed and the seal was turned off. After examining it briefly Sarutobi congratulated Naruto and said, "There's one more thing I'd like to test, but it's going to have to wait for tomorrow so go home and rest for the rest of the day. Whether or not you realize it now you're going to need a lot of rest for activating the Wakarugan so when you get home go straight to bed. In the morning I'll treat you to as much as you can eat," _which will probably be ramen, not the most nutritional option, but he likes it._

Meanwhile Naruto is jumping for joy calling out, "Yeah! All the ramen I can eat! Thanks Ojii-san!"

The Sandaime Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves was thus reduced a giggling old man at the absurdity. _He is so predictable on some things! Ha, ha, ha!_

Once he'd regained control he asked Naruto to come back tomorrow once the change in his eyes was no longer visible.

Naruto agreed and the rest of the day went as Sarutobi said it would.

XXXXX

The nest morning Naruto got ready for the day and grabbed a pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes and went to Ichiraku's where he downed 40 bowls! When Sarutobi got the bill he just shook his head and laughed.

Sometime after noon Naruto checked his eyes and found they looked normal again so he returned to the Hokages' office.

When he arrived Sarutobi greeted him and asked him to sit down then he pushed a button on his desk and a Anbu appeared and bowed, "Yes Lord Hokage? What can I do for you?"

"Yes Neko, thank you, please go and fetch Anko for me."

The female Anbu with dark purple-black hair hanging to mid-back and the cat mask nodded and left in a leaf shunshin.

"What's up Ojii-san?"

"Just wait Naruto, remember yesterday I had one other thing for you to check for me with your Wakarugan?"

"Oh, yeah I remember Ojii-san!" _Darn I'd completely forgotten about that!_

Something on his face must have given his thoughts away though because Sarutobi started laughing and was only just winding down a few minutes later when someone knocked on the door and he called out, "Enter."

In stepped Anko Mitarashi wearing her usual tan trench coat with a high collar, her mesh shirt that left little to the imagination, and her mini-skirt/mesh shorts combo. "Yo, what's up Hokage-sama?"

"Anko, thank you for your prompt arrival. I have something I'd like to try, if we're lucky we can free you from your 'little problem,' but you'd have to be willing to let Naruto here see it. Is that acceptable?"

Anko looked at the kid and then at the Hokage, "Why does the kid have to look at it?" She sounded composed, but the Sandaime could tell she wasn't.

"Well, it's actually Naruto here who has a chance of dealing with it," the Sandaime looked down pulling his hat down and said, "There is also a counter seal that Kakashi has developed but it requires you to be topless for him to apply it." The Sandaime actually blushed thinking about the attractive 19-year-old without her top,_ what can I say, I'm old, but I'm still a pervert. Maybe she'd let me apply the counter seal if it doesn't work with Naruto's ability?_

Anko smiled at how perverts reacted to her looks, she was proud of her body,_ just the same I wouldn't want a pervert like Kakashi or the old man to put such a counter seal on me, they'd probably mess it up. Still a counter seal,_ she thought excitedly, _that would mean some freedom from this blasted mark!_

"So, what would I need to expose for the gaki here?" she asks while pointing at the kid.

"All you'd need do is let him see the mark, if his new ability can do anything all he needs to do is touch it."

Anko thought about it a moment then took off her trench coat and sat down looking at the kid,_ I don't know what's going on, but if the old man thinks the gaki can do something I'll give him a shot._ She crooks her finger at the kid and he steps forward before even thinking about it, "Come here little boy, the Hokage has something he wants you to see."

Naruto stops a few feet from her and shakes his head like he'd been under a spell and looks at Sarutobi, "What's going on Ojii-san?

Anko smirked at the kid; sure he'd be in trouble with the Hokage, but when he smiled at Naruto her look changed and she remembered this was the kid that had been such a loud mouth at the beginning of the second exam. She smiled at the kid; _he could be interesting to play with in a few years._

Sarutobi nodded at Naruto, still smiling; "Anko here has a curse seal on her neck that she'd like removed if you can," Naruto nodded and stepped up and began analyzing her curse seal. The Sandaime looked at Anko and said, "This could take some time so you might want to get comfortable."

Normally Anko is really impatient, but for this possibility she could put up for it.

XXXXX

As it turns out it was a good thing Anko had decided to be patient because she was still sitting there three hours latter.

After nearly another hour had gone by though she was about to give up when the kid reached out a touched her. For a moment nothing happened, and then she screamed, and screamed, and just to break up the monotony she screamed some more. The Sandaime was just moving to stop this thinking Naruto had moved too soon, but then Anko got quiet as Naruto staggered away and collapsed onto the couch.

The Sandaime had been smoking his pipe but dropped it when he saw the mark glow and then shatter away, and got a mirror for Anko to see for herself. Once she stopped panting she took the mirror and looked and was so shocked she dropped the mirror, which the Sandaime quickly caught. _No use loosing a good mirror, or risking bad luck,_ he thought, _not that I believe in luck, but it never hurts to cover your bases._

He watched as the look on Anko's face slowly changed from shock to a smile as she looked at Naruto. He was utterly unprepared when she calmly walked over to the 13-year-old Naruto and sat on his lap and kissed him quite thoroughly. The Sandaime quickly blew back with a nosebleed when his mind caught up with what his eyes were seeing.

Naruto's only thought was _why does she taste like dango?_

Anko was thinking, _why couldn't he taste like dango? Oh well, can't have everything and he did free me from the curse seal._

A couple minutes latter the Sandaime was getting himself up off the ground and coughed, trying to get Anko's attention. No result, and by this point Naruto had his hands slowly rubbing up and down her back. "Now really Anko, he's only 13 and he might need air soon," the Sandaime said.

Anko broke the kiss, still sitting on the boys' lap with his arms lightly wrapped around her waste, and she smiled down at the boy and then looked over to the Sandaime. "Yes Hokage-sama," she said and got up, but not before one last kiss, a brief one this time, and she lightly nipped his lip as she pulled back. "Thanks gaki," _the kiss wasn't too bad either…for a gaki._

She bowed to the slightly stunned Hokage and left, whistling a jaunty tune people who knew her or knew of her spent the rest of the day running away in terror if they saw her. After all, they didn't want anything to do with whatever made the Snake Mistress of Konoha that happy.

Back in the Hokage's office Naruto had a very funny look on his face, like he didn't know what had just happened, but he wouldn't mind at all doing it again, and the Sandaime was trying to pull himself back together from the shock. Sarutobi was thinking, d_oesn't she know it's not good to mess with an old mans' heart like that? _And _I wonder how long they would have kept going before they needed to break for air?_ With that perverted giggle escaped the old man before he could stop it.

Naruto didn't wake from his confused and muddled thoughts until he heard a series of very loud throat clearings from the old man. He smiled a Sarutobi, "What's the matter Ojii-san, do you need a glass of water or a lozenge or something?"

Sarutobi frowned at bit then got a wicked smile on his face and said, "No, thank you Naruto, I was just wondering where you'd gone there, it must have been pleasant with the goofy look you'd been wearing." The both tried to look upset with each other, but they didn't last long before they burst out laughing.

That's how Jiraiya found them when he entered through the window a few minutes later. It took a moment for them to notice him, but he didn't mind, it gave him time to compare his memories of Minato to Naruto, _well the boy isn't in as good a shape as Minato was at that age and there's the whisker marks of course. Also, the smile reminds me more of Kushina's; still, there's no doubt the boy is Minato's,_ Jiraiya had to smile at that,_ but from what the sensei said he acts more like his mother did._ Jiraiya enjoyed that thought, Minato's looks and Kushina's personality.

It was when Jiraiya started laughing at all the fun he could have with the kid that his presence was finally noticed. Sarutobi cleared his throat loudly and introduced the two; "Well it seems your godfather is a little easy Naruto."

This statement caused Jiraiya to look annoyed and a little concerned for a moment, that is until he noticed that the boy didn't look surprised to see him, or to learn that he was his godfather. _Sensei must have explained all ready why I couldn't take the boy,_ he thought.

Jiraiya smiled at Naruto, "Hey kid, glad to see you've turned out so well." He paused for a moment trying to collect himself before continuing, "As you obviously already know I'm your godfather and I was your dad's teacher."

Naruto just looked on blankly for a moment, making Jiraiya nervous, before saying, "Hey! Ojii-san said you might be around and he explained why you couldn't take me in, so I guess I can forgive that," Jiraiya relaxed a moment until, "if you'll train me."

Sarutobi laughed a moment but thought that was probably an excellent idea.

Jiraiya was sputtering with outrage at that, _there's no doubt the brat is Kushina's now! How dare he try to blackmail me? _Buthe was secretly pleased as well; it was something Minato wouldn't have had the nerve to try at that age. Jiraiya seemed to think about it a while and thought, _why not, it should be fun, but I can't let him that he can just have his own way. That sets a bad example._

Jiraiya huffed and chortled, "Kid, what makes you think you're good enough to be taught by the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya?" He said the last with a little flair while striking a pose.

Naruto tried not to laugh at the old man; he really did, but, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! That was hilarious, do it again!"

Jiraiya was, needless to say annoyed and turned to his old sensei, "Well, he doesn't want me to train him so I'll be going…"

Before he could jump out the window, or even finish his sentence though, Naruto had grabbed his arm, "Wait up old man, no need to be so sensitive, I'm sorry." He released Jiraiya's hand and bowed deeply to hide his smile as he went on, "Would you, oh Great and Powerful Toad Sage Jiraiya teach me as you once taught my father?"

He sounded sincere, but Jiraiya saw the smile, so he stood up straight and took up a thinking pose. "I don't know. I'm still not convinced you're worthy."

Naruto scowled before asking; "Well what can I do to prove myself then?"

Jiraiya thought about it a moment and then described what he wanted, "I want a luscious one with nice curves," and he made an hourglass figure with his hands, all the while with a perverted look on he face. "Get me that in five minutes and I'll teach you."

Now normally Naruto wouldn't have understood what Jiraiya meant, but he had just recently had a very 'luscious one with nice curves' on his lap soundly kissing him, and he put two and two together faster than he normally would have done. Pointing a finger at Jiraiya he shouted, "You're just an old pervert!"

Jiraiya scoffed and said, "I'm not a pervert…I'm a Super Pervert! And now you're down to three and a half minutes kid."

Muttering under his breath Naruto put his hands together and said, "Sexy Jutsu!" and transformed.

The Sandaime blew back with a nosebleed and Jiraiya said, "Kid you're a genius! All right, stay like that, and I'll train you."

Naruto released the jutsu and turned to go, but Jiraiya stopped him, "Okay fine," he pouted, "I'll teach you." To which Naruto shouted out his joy and Sarutobi smiled. "Meet me at the hot-springs tomorrow at 9am."

Naruto nodded and was about to go when Sarutobi stopped him and said, "Remember Naruto, that you should be expecting Rin's visit in about three more weeks. By then the hospital should have released her, and you're going to be her first priority."

Naruto nodded and left with a huge smile.

XXXXX

A few hours go by with Jiraiya going over all the intelligence reports he's gathered since he last reported in. Finally, he cleared his throat, "So sensei, what exactly have I gotten myself into with the boy?"

Then Sarutobi explained about Naruto's skills and why some are so poor while others are so high. He explained what jutsu's the boy could do, and generally how he was treated over the years.

Jiraiya said, "Excuse me, there are some things I just remembered that I need to do," and he bowed briefly and left, leaving Sarutobi somewhat shocked, he didn't think he'd ever heard that tone of voice from his student before.

XXXXX

The next morning, messengers were sent out throughout Konoha to explain to all the parents who had students in the Academy that there probably wouldn't be classes for a few days as all but one of the teachers were in the hospital. When asked how this could of happened the messengers responded that they didn't know, apparently now of the teachers got a good look at their attacker.

Thus that day, and for a few to come, Iruka's class had the school to themselves.

Author's note - Well that's the first chapter of my first ever story for this web-site. A couple of quick notices: This is listed as mature because it provides the most leeway, and while it is a romance that part is going to take some time. The name Wakarugan came from a Japanese-English dictionary I have. Wakaru means: to understand, or to tell the difference, and gan was just added on because of Sharingan, Byakugan, and Rinnegan, it seems all dojutsu have to end in gan. Also, for the purposes of the story all adults are now 5 years younger than they are in the canon.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I would love to own Naruto, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I shall simply have to be content to own this story, without owning any of the character in it.

Chapter 2: Training Begins

Naruto woke up for his first day of training with Jiraiya at 7am, but that was okay, as he didn't need to be there until nine. So he took his time getting ready.

By 7:30 he was actually awake and hungry so he started his breakfast, which of course was ramen. By 7:34 he'd finished his first bowl and decided to have another, _but what should I have? Chicken is good, but then there's shrimp…_he thinks a moment, and gets an idea. _Why not just have both?_ And with that predictable answer to his 'which ramen should I have' question, Naruto gets a bigger bowl out and starts 'the wait.'_ Honestly, how can these people live with themselves? They call it instant ramen, yet they make no attempts to shorten the time it takes to make it!_ He wasn't really angry of course, but he really hated waiting the required 3 minutes.

So, after his second breakfast and a few other less important things like getting dressed, gathering his kunai and shuriken, and some paper bombs, Naruto was ready to go. Only problem was it was only 8am, _gah! Why did I get up so early?_ Shrugging Naruto grabs some bath things and, just in case, some bathing trunks and heads out.

When he arrives at the hot springs he looks around to see if Jiraiya is anywhere to be found, but no luck. So he goes in, pays, and gets changed, but when he comes out on the men's side he hears some low perverted giggling coming from the wall that hides the ladies side. When he really _looks_ he sees none other than Jiraiya peeping through a hole in the wall.

"Ah! You really are a pervert!" Naruto shouts with one hand raised pointed at the Toad Sage. From the other side of the wall comes screams and splashes as all the girls quickly get out of the bath and run to the changing room.

Jiraiya sighs, turns to Naruto and says, "Lesson 1 kid: when peeping never shout out the word pervert."

"I don't want lessons on how to be a pervert! You promised to train me to be a better ninja!" Naruto says indignantly.

Jiraiya just shakes his head muttering about how he knew he should have been around when the kid was younger, but gives a put-upon sigh and walks over to one of the baths. "Okay, the old man recommended we start with water walking, so do as I do," here he puts his hand in the ram seal. "Now focus your chakra into your feet like you would for tree-climbing and walk out on the water. The difference between the exercises will be obvious, but just so you can't complain I'll tell you that the trick is to alter your chakra output to match the shifting water."

With that he walks out on the water and Naruto quickly goes to follow, but he must not have paid much attention, because a moment later, "Ahhhhh! That's hot!" he screams and jumps right out of the water.

Meanwhile Jiraiya is rolling around on the surface of the water laughing his ass off while staying completely dry. Between wheezing laughs he gets out, "Kid you're great! Don't ever change!" and, "It's so much fun watching you screw up!"

Naruto is so mad at this he marches straight out to Jiraiya without realizing what he's done, "Stop laughing!"

Jiraiya does, looks at Naruto standing on the water like it's no big deal and points to Naruto's feet. When Naruto looks down he looks elated for all of three seconds, then promptly falls in causing Jiraiya to burst out laughing again and he walks back to shore leaving Naruto to make his own way out.

Once Naruto is back on shore and Jiraiya has regained control of his mirth he says, "Now then, your lesson for today is to figure out how to stand on the water and, once you have, to stay there as long as you can. If you feel like it try walking around a bit, but I'm also going to leave these two books for you to read," he holds up a orange book titled 'Icha-Icha Paradise Vol. 1' and another that has no title, just an all black cover.

Naruto looks about to protest reading the smut book, but Jiraiya stops him, "Both are important research for your future," at Naruto's disgusted look Jiraiya laughs. "Really, they are! I know you think the Icha-Icha series is all smut, but the first volume really isn't, and it didn't sell as well as those that are so believe me, there is a difference. The black book is a basic book of tactics that all prospective chunin should read, and while not as entertaining as my book, it really is a must read."

Naruto's face scrunches up at the idea of reading the Pervy Sage's book, but takes them both and sets them aside for the moment.

"I recommend you alternate every other chapter, one book to the next, just so you don't get bored. Also, try to read them while standing on the water, it'll be a distraction, and you need that because the goal is to get to the point that nothing can make you fall in. I will be giving you a test tomorrow to see if you read them," and with that Jiraiya starts to wander off.

Naruto shouts, "Aren't you going to stick around to train me!?"

"Kid, I just told you what I want you to do for today. There's no point starting to train you in anything until your control is up to snuff," and Jiraiya leaves.

Naruto fumes and grabs the Icha-Icha, "He can't complain if I fall in with it."

"I heard that," comes from the distance and Naruto mutters something derogatory about how he always thought hearing was supposed to be the first thing to go, and Jiraiya proves him wrong by laughing at that.

So ends the first day of training.

XXXXX

The next day goes much the same, and Naruto passes his test about the two books, although he blushes furiously when Jiraiya has him recount some of the more mature scenes from the Icha-Icha book.

Jiraiya asks, "So what did you think about the two books? Mine was a lot more fun to read wasn't it?"

Naruto scowls, but looks thoughtful a moment later, "The black book was interesting. It made me really think about all the battles I've been in so far."

"And what was your conclusion?"

Naruto thinks a moment before responding very hesitantly with, "I think…that I'm lucky to be alive."

Jiraiya nods and then a smile blossoms on his face, "So now that you've actually read one of my books tell me what you think."

Naruto smiles and says, "I think they're…smut!" Causing Jiraiya to face-fault with fake tears pouring from his eyes, which in turn makes Naruto laugh, but then admit, "I really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." This 'praise' makes Jiraiya stand tall again and beam at the boy, "but I'd never want to read it in public like Kakashi-sensei," Naruto concludes.

Jiraiya just laughs at that before saying, "There's hope for you yet my boy! Now, on to more serious matters, get on the water," Naruto does, and Jiraiya nods his approval. "Good, now how long could you stay out there yesterday?"

"Well it took a little while, and I left for a bit to have lunch, but after that I started reading on the water until the sun went down, then I went home to finish the two books."

Jiraiya looks very pleased at this news, but says, "I have one more thing I want you to do before I start training you in anything," and he motions for Naruto to come back off the water. Once Naruto is standing next to him he hands him a bag, "Put those on. One on each wrist and ankle and the big one around your chest."

Naruto looks in the bag, "What are they?"

"A special kind of chakra weight set that is just for this kind of training."

Naruto nods and quickly dons the bands, "Now what?"

"Now look at the display on your left wrist and channel chakra there until the display reads 1."

Naruto does so, but looks confused until suddenly he lurches to the side, "What happened?"

"You now have 50lbs. That will randomly shift from one band to another, or sometimes divide between two or more, though never equally. It's perfect for mastering water-walking because the water already required you to adjust your chakra flow and the shifting weight will make it that much harder. Also, those weights only go up to setting 5, but at that level 250lbs. will be shifting around. That's your goal for the end of this week, and until you can stay absolutely stable on the water at the third setting I won't teach you anything else.

"Oh come on Pervy Sage! That's not fair! I only have this month to prepare for the final stage of the chunin exam and I haven't learned anything yet!"

"Trust me Naruto, those weights were designed by your father, and once you can master them you'll be a lot stronger than you think," and with that Jiraiya starts to walk away but turns back after a few steps. "By the way, have you looked at the scroll from your mother yet?"

Naruto looks down and mumbles that he hasn't and Jiraiya nods and says, "In that case, after you go to lunch I want you to go home and check it out."

Naruto nods, still not looking up, and goes about trying to master this new level of water-walking.

XXXXX

After lunch Naruto decides that he might as well do as he was told and goes home and starts reading his mothers scroll and finds that it's a letter to him that reads:

_Dear Naruto,_

_If you're reading this then one of two things has happened, either I died giving birth to you as the medic-nins' said I would, or we're reading it together. I certainly hope it's the latter and we can have a good laugh at how much of a worry wart I was being, but if it's the former know that I love you, and that I loved you from the moment your father and I found out I was pregnant._

_As I'm writing this I am trying to imagine what you might look like. Will you look like your dad, will you take after me, or will you be some combination of the two? Your dad and I discussed this and we had fun thinking of all the trouble you could get into if you looked like your dad, but acted like me, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life as I did at that image. Oh well, the only important thing is to know that however you turn out your father and I will love you with all our hearts and souls._

_Now then, for the serious stuff. A few days ago your father received a report about the Nine-Tailed Fox, and it suggested it might be coming toward Konoha. I hope not as, after some thought, your father concluded that there would only be one way to stop it. I worse does come to worse, my hope is that you wont be born yet, because I know your father, if you are he'll use you for his process. I know it's selfish, but I don't have the faith in this village your father does, and I wouldn't wish that fate one my own son_

_Enough doom and gloom though, even if the worst happens I'm sure Sarutobi will be there for you, and you really can't ask for many stronger supporters than the former Hokage known as 'The Professor.' It also occurs to me that in that case it's possible no one ever bothered to tell you about how we chose your name. Your father's sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin, has recently become an author, and his first ever book stars none a character named 'Naruto' who, through many trials and tribulations, goes on to be a great hero by the end._

_I'm afraid that book didn't sell too well so he's started a series he calls Icha-Icha something, the first book is out and its' gotten some very good reviews, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I really liked his first book so I'm sure I'll like this one as well, but it'll have to wait for now._

Here Naruto smiles and wonders what his mom would think about the Icha-Icha series, and he cries a little thinking about how his parents had loved him and wanted him, but knowing what had happened in the end. One tear landed on the scroll and more appeared:

You have now broken a seal I placed on this scroll, and that means you have obtained your legacy: the Wakarugan.

And with that Naruto sat up with renewed interest and continues to read.

If Sarutobi knows that you have activated your bloodline then he probably told you all that I told him about it, but let me assure you that was only the tip of the proverbial Iceberg.

_The Wakarugan bloodline produces several effects at different levels, but even if it never activates it grants the person massive and nearly uncontrollable chakra reserves. To give an example, if the Nine-Tails attacks and if I could, I'd probably be able to hold it off alone for at least 3-4 hours. Of course, I have built my natural reserve up, but the second strongest person in the village (your father) would be lucky to manage 1-2 hours._

_Now, since it has activated in you, I'll describe the three natural stages and the rumored ultimate stage. In the first stage your eyes will change for about 24 hours, showing a swirl pattern emanating from the iris. After this 24-hour time period your eyes will revert to normal, but from then on the Wakarugan is constantly active, yet draws almost no chakra. At this stage you will gain a near perfect defense against the bane of our family: Genjutsu. From this point on only a Genjutsu Master will have any chance of successfully affecting you. At this stage you will also begin having a very basic understanding of seals just by looking at them._

_At the second stage the swirl will reappear, this time for no more than 12-hours, and the formerly pure black swirl will have traces of silver mixed in. From here, an S-rank genjutsu _might_ affect you, but not for long unless your opponent is willing to put massive amounts of chakra into it (nearly Kage level required). Beyond that genjutsus will not stick to you. This can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing, as it means your transformations and hiding genjutsus will cost a bit more chakra (though, unless you've been completely lazy it's unlikely to affect your reserves). As a result, all transformations will become physical, and not just illusion. Also, your understanding of seals will go up and you will gain an ability any Seal Master would die for: the ability to place or dispel any seal that you can get a handle on, that is that you can understand. Some seals will be easier than others will and dispelling a seal on another will be virtually impossible unless that individual TRULY wants it gone._

_I've befriended several branch family members of the Hyuga in my time in Konoha, and to each I've offered to remove the cage-bird seal. Each agreed to let me try and each failed. The lesson here is that sometimes no matter how much someone says they don't want a thing, part of them does._

_Now then, at the third stage, the swirl becomes completely silver, but it fades within minutes. It's actually quite possible to miss that you entered this stage as by this point you have probably already gained a certain understanding of seals, but here you have essentially become an instant seal master. Almost nothing in that sense is beyond you, and you maintain the ability to set or dispel seals by visualization and touch. _

_Imagine one of the simplest of seals: the paper bomb. At the third level of the Wakarugan you could easily give any surface the same effect as a paper bomb_

_You'll also be able to change existing seals to suit your needs at this level. _

_The catch is that before you can reach this level you will probably need to be at a near Seal Master level already, so the end effect is simply at increased set of abilities from stage 2._

_Supposedly, there is a forth and final level of the Wakarugan, but as far as I know no one has ever achieved it. If you do decide to seek it, I ask only that you remember this: with great power there is often great cost, and always great responsibility._

_There are two final points to be made about our family bloodline my son. One is that the nature of the Wakarugan is defensive, whereas most bloodlines are offensive. The second point is that the Wakarugan hides itself for a reason, be very careful about telling anyone about it._

Here the scroll returns to its' previous state and all the words Naruto just finished reading vanish, leaving no trace but a blank space, and the letter continues.

_Your father and I have each left a scroll for you, but while your father left instructions for his jutsu's I have left you 4 scrolls sealed at the bottom of this letter, each containing one of the taijutsu styles that the Uzumaki were known for._

_Each style is unique, and used properly, the ability to shift mid-battle between them can produce devastating effects. To give you an idea, whenever your father and I have ever spared with only taijutsu I have always won, even though he is physically stronger and faster than I am._

_The 4 styles were gathered by one of our distant ancestors who traveled the world before the Elemental Nations were formed. He settled in the Land of Whirlpool, as it would eventually become known, and passed the styles on to his descendants as I now pass them on to you. Hopefully, you're getting this scroll while you're still young, and your Godmother Rin has come back to teach you. If not I recommend you ask Sarutobi which style you should start with. _

_These are the styles:_

_Tai Chi: Which focuses on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization._

_This style will help you learn to use your Wakarugan to its' fullest in regard to seals._

_This style will be easier to learn if you tend towards a defensive style._

_Hung Gar: Which focuses on firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes._

_This style will be easier to learn if you are well balanced between offensive and defensive styles._

_Northern Shaolin Kung Fu: Uses strong arm and leg movements._

_This style will be easier to learn if you tend towards an aggressive style._

_Ba-Gua: uses dynamic circular movements and quick directional changes. This technique uses centripetal force to generate power, and nearly constant circular movement to create angles between the combatants._

_This style will be easier to learn if, when in battle, you prefer to keep your opponent off balance._

Start with whichever style you see fit, but continue with only one until you reach the intermediate level. At that point pick another and start it, and so forth, until all four are mastered. Each is selected by wiping a bit of your blood across the seal next to the name of the form you desire on this scroll.

One last thing, our family has always been firm believers in hard work and determination, so even if you should ever learn of ways to speed up your training, be very careful or take the long way, as that will only seldom lead you the wrong way.

_Know that your parents always loved and wanted you._

_Sincerely,_

_Your Mother,_

_Kushina Uzumaki – Namikaze_

With that Naruto decided to roll the scroll up and wait for Rin to help him choose which style he should start with. He was also curious about her suggestion that there might be a faster way to train, but figured that unless Rin told him whatever that may be he would honor his mothers' wishes and learn the old fashioned way._ Hard work has always been my style for learning things anyway, _and with that thought firmly in mind Naruto, fell asleep with a large, true smile on his face.

Author's Note – This chapter came to mind when I read some reviews requesting that I not make Naruto too strong too fast and I hope it sets that fear to rest. Yes, Naruto will be stronger than he is in the canon, but he will not automatically shift into a Kage-level ninja either. Also, for those wanting Naruto to learn seals, he will, and the Wakarugan will make the use of them easier, but until level 3 it won't make learning them any easier. As for the 4th level, well, I intend to get Naruto there eventually, but probably not for a long time (especially as I haven't decided what a 4th level would do or what kind of cost it might require from Naruto before he can achieve it). Actually, Naruto is going to be at level 2 for a while too, since he kind of by-passed level 1. By this point, you should realize that the Wakarugan is closely based off of the Sharingan in levels, but a 4th level here will NOT involve Naruto killing anyone close to himself.

Author's Note 2 – The taijutsu styles are the styles used in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' and I thank for the basic description of each. No there will be no bending in this story, I just always liked that each nation got a real style of fighting to use in the show. Also, if anyone disagrees with my little side-notes that give Naruto hints about which style he should start with, please remember this is my story and I can pretty much do as I like.

Last A/N this time around – No Anko this chapter, she'll make appearances from time to time, but she is six years Naruto's senior in this story so for now interaction will be minimal. Expect her to help him train at some point, maybe even go on the training trip with them (which I'll be doing, I think, but it definitely won't just be Naruto and Jiraiya). Rin should make it into the next chapter, and her job is to teach Naruto his family taijutsu styles, which means any lessons with Jiraiya will be interspersed with those from her.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I really don't see why I have to say it, but just in case anyone was wondering, I regret to inform you that I don't own Naruto. I would love it if I did, but no such luck.

* * *

Ever since the day she was freed from the curse mark, Anko was feeling like she'd been reborn. It had always held her back; each time she would train in the past she had always had to hold back because if she got too close to chakra exhaustion it would activate, causing her pain. The last few days though she had been pushing herself training against her friends Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki and she was loving every second of it!

After one such training session Anko was bent over panting, but had a huge smile, as her two friends were both flat on their backs. Yugao was still conscious, but Hayate was out like a light. It took a few minutes from there, but eventually Anko caught her breathe, Yugao was up to a seated position breathing regularly, and Hayate was sleeping soundly. A little concerned Anko quickly checked Hayate over.

With a worried expression Anko turns to Yugao and says, "He's not breathing!"

Yugao shot up and rushed to her lover's side, knelt by his side and immediately began performing CPR only to have Hayate's hands reach around and grab her, pulling her into a deep kiss. At first she accepts the kiss, then she realizes the truth. _They tricked me!_ Pulling back she slaps him hard enough to knock him out.

All the while Anko is laughing her ass off, but when she sees the look in Yugao's eyes she sobers up and starts running. Still, she can't erase the smile from her face, and it's all thanks to a young boy who wears far too much orange. _I really need to find some way to thank him...I don't think I can ever repay him for what he's done, but I aim to try!_

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Naruto is up to level 2 on the chakra weights and is about ready to start level three. He's down to his last day, but he isn't worried. Level 1 and 2 just took a little getting used to by leaving the weights on all the time. True some people looked at him funny as he staggered around town, but it was worth it…besides he was so used to the villagers dirty looks that he hardly ever noticed them anymore.

XXXXX

For Sarutobi the last few days had seen a rise to the bane of every Kage's life: paperwork!

It seemed that every other civilian in the village had filed claims that Naruto had been seen walking about the town drunk. Naturally, the first few had simply been ignored, but as he read her 20th report he was becoming concerned. "ANBU! Get Jiraiya here! NOW!"

Unseen three masked Anbu quickly left to search the most likely locations for the perverted Sannin: the hot springs, the waterfalls and pools commonly visited by scantily clad young women, and various training grounds. They didn't really expect to find him at a training ground.

A few minutes later Jiraiya was standing in front of Sarutobi with the Anbu known as Bear. Bear signaled with silent hand code that they'd found him at a waterfall peeping on women. Sarutobi just nodded to Bear and dismissed him before giving the papers to Jiraiya and saying, "Explain."

The word came out calmly, but Jiraiya knew better so he quickly read over the papers, but he was cracking up after 3. That is, he was cracking up until he looked at his old sensei, which stopped his laughter instantly. Clearing his throat he explained, "My guess is he decided he'd get used to the weights faster if he didn't take them off after he was done training." Sarutobi looked confused, so he explained what he had Naruto doing.

Once Sarutobi understood and accepted the papers back he stacked them with all the other such reports and pushed a button on his desk that summoned Iruka who was acting as his secretary today.

Sarutobi said, "Take note," making Iruka instantly whip out a notepad and pen, and Sarutobi continued when he saw Iruka was ready, "To each of those who receive this notice understand this, any future false reports on crimes committed by any shinobi will be met with the following possible penalties:

1) Financial penalties between 20 to 100 ryo

2) Community service of 20 to 100 hours

3) Imprisonment not to exceed 2 years

Any or all of these penalties will be applied based on number of previously given false reports. Also, these penalties were suggested due to your recent reports on one of Konoha's shinobi."

Nodding, Sarutobi handed all the reports that suggested Naruto had been seen drunk in public to Iruka, who in turn bowed. If you looked closely you would have seen a brief smile cross his face as he'd been presented with an opportunity for some measure of revenge for the Naruto's sake. _If only we could punish them for suggesting such a thing in the first place,_ but in his heart of hearts he knew Naruto wouldn't want that, and he left the room to go about his happy task.

Alone again Jiraiya was about to go when Sarutobi sighed and said, "How many times have I told you that it's best not to get caught if you're going to peep. Not even by Anbu."

Jiraiya just smiled and said, "Not everyone has a crystal ball that actually works," and he left a blushing Hokage behind.

XXXXX

By the last day of the assigned week Naruto surprised Jiraiya by standing perfectly still with the chakra weights at level 5. Smiling broadly Jiraiya clapped him on the shoulder, which caused Naruto's attention to waver a moment and as he tilted to the left he sunk into the freezing stream he was practicing on today. Shrieking Naruto was out of the water faster than a cat thrown in a bathtub, which caused gales of laughter from Jiraiya since Naruto had been fully dressed when he fell in.

Now Naruto looked something like a drowned rat. His clothes were soaked, he was missing one sandal, and his perpetually spiky hair was still quite spiky. When Jiraiya noticed this last he just laughed harder, but once he regained his composure he showed Naruto a simple Katon jutsu for drying off quickly, which Naruto got on his second try. The first try almost sent him up in flames and he had to jump back into the stream to avoid any damage to his clothes.

He could heal, but the clothes would be ruined and he only had two more of his favorite orange jumpsuits. He'd gotten them a couple years ago and they still had some room for him to grow, _and the sales person said they'd never carry the jumpsuits again because no one else had wanted them._ Actually, that was the only reason he had them to begin with, but he'd grown really comfortable in them and wasn't looking forward to the day they wouldn't fit anymore.

Wardrobe aside Naruto got over his indignation when Jiraiya said, "Well if you don't want to learn the new jutsu I was…"

But he never got the chance to finish as Naruto screamed, "NEW JUTSU! YOU MEAN YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO TEACH ME SOMETHING COOL!" Privately he thought water-walking was cool, but it was a little less than 3 weeks before his match with Neji and he was hoping for something he'd be able to use to keep his vow to avenge Hinata.

Smiling Jiraiya said, "If you really want to…" and Naruto was nodding his head so hard he had to laugh a little before turning serious again. "Okay, this is a move I came up with myself, it's called the Needle Jizō. It won't work great for you unless you start letting your hair grow out a bit, but it should still make for some interesting surprises all around. The seals are: Tiger → Horse → Boar → Sheep → Rat → Snake. Now this is a B-rank jutsu, so it might take a while for you to get."

Jiraiya smiled, sure Naruto would be thrilled at such a great new ability, but the boy just looked confused. That's when he realized his mistake and slapped himself in the face. Looking sheepish he said, "Almost forgot to tell you what it does. Well, basically it turns your hair into a steel hard shield with needle like points, making it a lot like a porcupines quill defense. It also temporarily lengthens your hair, for example," and he quickly performs the jutsu.

Naruto sees the hair grow and wrap around Jiraiya's whole body and he tests the points only to pull his hand away quickly as even that simple touch had drawn blood. When Jiraiya cancels the jutsu he sees that now Naruto's expression is what he'd been expecting previously and he has Naruto spend a few hours trying to get the jutsu down.

After lunch he decides to start Naruto on something else as well and says, "Now I'd like to start you on one more thing, and between these two jutsu you probably won't have time to learn anything else before the chunin exam continues."

He goes through a series of hand signs too quickly for Naruto to catch before he slams his hand down and says, "Kuchiyose!" and a Toad appears under him. Gaping a little, since Naruto had never seen a Toad the size of a pony before, Naruto is speechless and Jiraiya turns to the Toad before saying, "I need the contract," and from within it's mouth the Toad produces a large scroll.

Dismissing the Toad Jiraiya unrolls the scroll and says, "Cut your finger and sign your name here, then get blood on all of your fingers and press here. All with your writing hand that is."

Naruto does as he is told, but takes a moment to notice that the last person who had signed the contract was his father, and before that Jiraiya himself. _Only 3 in the last 50 years or so,_ Naruto realized and understood that he was being entrusted with a legacy.

"Now these are the seals: Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram. As you've already seen what it does I'd like you to try to practice this from now until the end of the day, also, because it's the Toad contract, you can summon from water, but it'll be easier from solid ground."

And so, Naruto began trying to summon, but as Jiraiya had left out details of how much chakra to use he just used as much as he does when making a large number of Kage bunshin. Or rather, he used as much as he did before his chakra control had improved from the water walking. He hadn't used Kage bunshin since he'd begun training with Jiraiya so he didn't realize his control was any better, and even if he had he wouldn't understand the implications of that act.

Thus when green and brown Toad named Gamahiro showed up Jiraiya was shocked, he'd been sure that in order to do that the boy would need years more training or access to the Nine-Tails chakra. Gamahiro was second only to Gamabunta, the Toad boss, and he was second mostly in power. As for shear size, Gamahiro and Gamabunta were both bigger than the Hokage tower, and Gamahiro sported 2 swords strapped to his back to match his huge size.

The giant Toad looked around before spotting Jiraiya and saying calmly, **"Jiraiya, why have you summoned me?"**

Thinking the confusion was understandable Jiraiya shouted out, "It wasn't me," and he motioned to Naruto and said, "Please let me introduce you to the newest Toad summoner: Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, though I'd appreciate you not using the name Namikaze. In fact, when you get back to your world I'd be best if you not share that name with any but Gamabunta himself." He bowed slightly, it was always best to show some deference when dealing with the truly HUGE Toads and Naruto followed his teacher's example, bowing at the waist, but not lowering his eyes.

This made Gamahiro smile and say; **"I am pleased that there is finally a new summoner Jiraiya, and one that follows our own way."** Even from his height Gamahiro could tell Naruto was confused and he let out a rumbling belly laugh and said, **"It is always best to show respect boy, but to turn one's eyes from any who have not given you SIGNIFIGANT reason to trust them is foolish. 'Arrogance leads only to death, while caution leads to long life' as we Toads say."**

With that the giant Toad disappeared and Jiraiya asked, "How much of your chakra would you say you just used up?"

Naruto tested his reserves slightly and said, "About a forth…why? Should I not use so much? Or is it that I should have used more?"

Jiraiya just stared. After a minute or two he regained his composure and summoned three times in a row. The first got his a tadpole, the second a small red and black Toad named Gamakichi, and a pony sized Toad and he had Naruto try to use little enough chakra to summon all 3.

Naruto easily summoned a battle Toad like the pony sized one and then summoned Gamakichi right back as he'd been returned the moment before to his own dimension. The tadpole was a little harder, but Jiraiya just said not to worry about it and explained what each of the different sizes could best be used for.

"The tadpole really doesn't have any use, I just wanted to see if you could release such a small amount. Gamakichi and his relatives at that age are good for delivering messages and hanging out with. The battle Toads are pretty obvious, they're the one big enough and strong enough to fight with you against lesser enemies. The Battle Toads are also good for a quick retreat if you need to avoid leaving a chakra signature. Finally, there are the Toads like Gamahiro who you summed just a moment ago. Mostly these are only needed for dealing with other summons or with large groups of enemies. Also, there is the Boss Toad Gamabunta who is almost 3 times stronger than Gamahiro and so take a correspondingly larger amount of chakra to summon him."

The rest of that day went by swiftly, with Naruto popping Gamakichi in and out a dozen times and practicing the Needle Jizō, which he more or less had down. Though he found that unlike Jiraiya's, no matter how much chakra he put in, his hair just wouldn't grow enough to make more than a half cloak leaving his lower body exposed while protecting the upper.

Jiraiya was surprised the boy was still standing when they finished for the day. _So much for wearing him out so that he can meet with the Fox. I'll have to figure some other way since we don't want to leave the Fox alone much longer. We definitely don't need another incident like the Wave mission-report that Kakashi filed happening._ He shuddered thinking what the Kyuubi might do if the boy got so angry again that it could influence it. _At least if they meet Naruto will be prepared for the ways the Kyuubi might try to influence him._

He'd honestly just considered throwing the boy off a cliff to get him in contact with the Fox, but if tiring him out took all day he just didn't want to think about how such long term physical strain might impact their first meeting.

Having been silent a while Naruto was waving his hand in front of Jiraiya's face trying to see if anyone was in when Jiraiya started speaking again. "Okay! I've decided that for the rest of your training with me before the chunin finals you need to meet the Boss Toad, learn some more specialized jutsu just for you, and one or two other things."

Naruto was confused. "I can see meeting the Boss Toad and I'm always ready to learn new jutsu, but what's with the mystery?"

"You'll see," was all Jiraiya said before heading off.

* * *

A/N – This chapter might be a bit shorter, but I just felt that was an appropriate stopping place. Also, I'm trying to bring Anko in as a main character since my goal is a romance, but in my story she's a Special Jonin and 19, while Naruto is Canon (meaning Genin and 12-13 of course). The age gap makes putting them together awkward for now so it'll still be a while before anything can happen there; still, she needs a role to play now…. Well we'll have to see what comes as it comes, hope you'll be patient and enjoy the ride.


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